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Chapter 441: Chapter 431: Returning to My Mother-in-law’s Home (Part 4) (Extra for acite)
Qiu Shuping was infuriated to the point of falling backwards, but she hadn’t expected much from this stingy daughter-in-law anyway, so she had focused all her attention on the second daughter-in-law. That vicious look in her eyes suggested that if she didn’t agree right away, Qiu was ready to go as far as stealing it by force.
Shen Yunfang sighed internally, her guess had been on point as usual. Every time she met her mother-in-law, there was only ever one thing on the agenda, money. Moreover, the amount of money requested kept increasing, from twenty, to fifty, to over a hundred, and then to two hundred. Now it seemed a few hundred wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her.
"Mom, I can’t decide on this matter, you should wait for Hongjun to come back and discuss it with him," Shen Yunfang dismissively put the matter off indefinitely.
"How can that be okay? Didn’t you say Hongjun is out on a mission? That could be for a month, or even several months. The leader’s daughter can’t wait that long," Qiu Shuping pressed, she wasn’t foolish.
Can’t wait? That didn’t sound right. It wasn’t the girl who couldn’t wait, it was Li Hongqi who couldn’t wait.
"I’m not asking for much, just give Hongqi three to five hundred," Qiu Shuping truly shot for the moon with that request.
After all, the second son’s family seemed quite wealthy. How else could they afford to buy a house in the Capital? It would be best to ask for more this time and cover the wedding expenses for her youngest son as well.
Indeed, she was asking for more this time. Shen Yunfang bitterly noted to herself.
Wang Dan couldn’t help snickering from the sidelines, "Geez, Mom, you really want a golden daughter-in-law, don’t you? When I married into the family, the dowry and wedding expenses didn’t even add up to fifty yuan, and now you want ten times more for this new bride. You and Dad must have saved a lot over the years," she said sarcastically.
Anyone would feel disgruntled with this kind of differential treatment from their mother-in-law. The fact that she didn’t make a fuss and demand compensation was already showing her mother-in-law a lot of face.
Shen Yunfang also laughed, somewhat embarrassed she said to her mother-in-law, "Mom, I don’t even have thirty or fifty to spare, let alone three to five hundred. You should get Hongqi to think of something else."
How could Qiu Shuping believe that? "How is that possible, you just bought a house in the Capital, didn’t you? If you don’t have money, then how did you manage to buy it?"
"It’s exactly because I bought a house in the Capital that I’ve spent all my savings. There’s nothing left in my pockets, even cleaner than my face," Shen Yunfang spread her hands.
"But, but..." Qiu Shuping was at a loss, she wanted to suggest selling the house in the Capital, but she knew that would make it even more unlikely for her second daughter-in-law to give her any money, so she trailed off.
She turned to the old man, hoping he would say something.
Li’s father could clearly see his second daughter-in-law’s unyieldingly non-cooperative attitude, but for the sake of his youngest son’s future, he had to speak up.
"Yunfang, if you have some money, could you lend it to your dad? I’ll borrow it, and I can write you an IOU if that helps," he said, not knowing whether Hongjun had told Yunfang about the incident where Hongqi had reported her, so he tried to dissociate this loan from Hongqi, hoping that would work.
Qiu Shuping’s lips twitched as she wanted to argue, but after thinking it over, she figured it was better to get the money first. There was no way Shen Yunfang would get her to pay it back.
"Dad, I really don’t have any money left. Even if you wanted to borrow, I have nothing to lend," Shen Yunfang said flatly.
Shen Yunfang walked out from the Li family amidst the old man’s silence and Qiu Shuping’s cursing.
"I told you it was pointless coming here," Wang Dan said, gesturing towards the courtyard behind them, "Why bother returning to look at this? If it were me, I wouldn’t set foot here for the rest of my life."
Shen Yunfang laughed. She didn’t want to come either, but it was all for Li Hongjun, "If only I had the courage of my sister-in-law."
"Pfft, I tell you, you’ve become foolish from all that reading, allowing people to bully you without uttering a peep. Did you notice? Among all the sons and daughters-in-law, it’s only Li Hongqi who’s their flesh and blood. Just watch, whenever Li Hongqi faces any trouble, the old man and old lady will definitely turn to us. I’ve already told Li Hongxing, he’s not to interfere. If he must, then he might as well go live with Li Hongqi." Wang Dan was the boss in her own home, keeping Li Hongxing completely under control.
"Haha, we’ve already split the family, and Li Hongqi is working too. If there’s anything, we’re too far to be of any help. We come back once every few years; just endure it and it’ll pass," Shen Yunfang said smilingly.
She had no affection for Li Hongqi whatsoever. Although Li Hongjun had given Li Hongqi a good thrashing back then, she was still not satisfied and also felt that it was impossible to associate with a person of such character. The current situation was fine; seeing him once every few years, if he had the capability, he should progress on his own. After all, she had no money and couldn’t offer any help either.
Seeing Wang Dan eager to continue the chat, Shen Yunfang quickly said, "Sister-in-law, it’s getting late. I still need to check on Jiajia at my elder sister’s home, so I won’t chat with you for much longer. Let’s catch up some other time."
Wang Dan wanted to keep her there, as she hadn’t gotten the chance to ask about the situation in the Capital, but seeing Shen Yunfang already mounting her bicycle, she only managed to shout from behind, "Hey, in a few days, I’ll bring the kids to see you."
Shen Yunfang thought she meant that Wang Dan would visit her in Gaijiatun and agreed with a response, unaware that before long, Wang Dan would actually bring her whole family to the Capital.
Shen Yunfang rode her bicycle to the address she had been given and found Li Xianglian’s home.
Li Xianglian didn’t live in Taoshu Village; she was married in Xinghe Village not far from Taoshu Village.
Her elder sister’s house looked quite ramshackle, giving Shen Yunfang the impression that this household was rather poor.
"Elder sister? Are you home?" Shen Yunfang called out as she stood with her bicycle outside the yard.
The yard was fenced with a hedge, so even standing outside, one could see the inside clearly.
The house was small and run-down, the yard wasn’t large, but it was well-kept, with rows of thriving vegetables.
"Who is it?" The one who came out from the house was Jiajia.
"Jiajia, I’m your second aunt," Shen Yunfang said smilingly as she looked at the young girl coming to open the gate.
Jiajia also recognized her second aunt and quickly called into the house, "Mom, second aunt’s back, come out quickly!" Then she ran swiftly to open the yard gate.
Shen Yunfang pushed her bicycle into the yard. "Jiajia has grown up, become more beautiful—I almost didn’t recognize you." She praised the child as she entered, and before she could park her bicycle, someone rushed out of the house—it was Li Xianglian.
"Is that really you, Yunfang? How, how, what brings you here?" Li Xianglian was so surprised to see her sister-in-law that she didn’t know what to do.
"Mom, let’s talk inside; with aunt coming from so far, she must be exhausted," Jiajia, the thoughtful young girl, suggested.
"Yes, yes, look at me, I’m not even as sensible as my daughter. Come on, let’s go inside, quickly!" Li Xianglian, reminded by her daughter, hastily invited her inside. This was the first time her sister-in-law had visited their home.
Shen Yunfang, carrying the gifts, smiled and followed them inside.
